Let’s Get Acquainted

We are glad you're here.

Welcome to Forward Cities. We are a national nonprofit equipping communities and regions to grow and sustain more equitable entrepreneurial ecosystems. Through our ESHIP Communities and E3 Ecosystem Building work, we have pioneered the development of the nation's first comprehensive assessment tool and corresponding facilitated methodology to measure the health and equity of a community's entrepreneurial ecosystem.

Tell us about you, and learn more about us below. We look forward to being in touch!

TELL US ABOUT YOU.

"Start. Be patient. This is what we all must do as individuals, as communities, and as a field. We can do this but it will take all of us and it will take time. It will take a willingness to answer a call to reimagine, repair, and renew our ecosystems so that all might thrive."

Fay horwitt, forward cities president

How do you measure the health & equity of an entrepreneurial ecosystem?

In essence, an entrepreneurial ecosystem is the dynamic mix of visible and invisible elements that combine to create the environment in which entrepreneurs launch and grow their businesses. There are many established conventions around measuring the visible and tangible parts of an ecosystem, such as available real estate or number of higher educational institutions. But how do you measure the invisible elements such as connectivity, trust, and equity? Equally importantly, how do you measure the quality and impact of both visible and invisible elements? If you ask anyone in this nascent field, they will tell you that these have been the big, unanswered questions.

Until now.